In anticipation of the August 21st release of the new Josh Ritter LP The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter video, review and song (via: I Guess I'm Floating).
Vick is sick, Professional Sports are falling apart and so is Lohan, as for those folks who wait in line for a 600 page book about a boy named Potter, well that’s a lost cause…so just what the F is going on these days?
There’s battle lines being drawn, and nobody’s right, if everybody’s wrong.
“Dogs, You can’t go to Jail for Dogs.” Actually Mr. Clinton Portis, you can, it’s called a felony, look it up. As for your dog breeding, I just run around a lot and make poor decisions but I’m real fast friend who “ain’t never heard of no house in Virginia,” well let’s just say this fella here is pretty pumped to see Vick in the doghouse.
This to me is just the perfect example of what happens when young men are thrown into the spotlight, made into celebrities, given millions and millions of dollars and adored by fans, admired by children and desired by women. That’s got be one heck of a burden. Them having every opportunity in the world handed to them; couldn’t imagine having that kind of pressure in my life. In fact, I like balancing my checkbook, being a mediocre athlete and going to extreme measures to get girls to even realize I exist. But, at least I don’t host dog slaughter parties, that’s just about the dumbest damn thing I’ve ever heard of. It sickens me to know that the average person, well at least average good person, works their whole life just to get by and support their family so that at the end of their days they may have enough money to retire and not be a burden on their children. Meanwhile, in La La Land, men in their mid twenties are paid more money in one year than most small businesses generate in sales for that same amount of time. What do they do with this money? Well a lot do give to charities etc., but that’s tough to admire because the league makes them. Most however, just buy shit, throw parties and make the average man jealous and aspire to unrealistic goals. When you have enough money to buy a house that you have never been to, and your friends have dog fights at that house and massive parties, well you may just have a little too much money and far too little intelligence.
Why do these people make so much money and why do so many of them make such ridiculous decisions with their money and fame?
There’s too many factors to consider, but mostly it’s because they are just plain ignorant and in no way deserve the amount of power they have. What’s wrong with paying these people the same amount of money successful businessmen make? I think no athlete in the first 2 years of their career should make more than $150K a year, no one, not even after endorsements. They haven’t proved a damn thing, and they obviously have no idea what to do with all of that money.
There’s something happening here, what it is ain’t exactly clear.
This of course brings to light the other side of money and fame that bellies up to star athletes, that is of course is Hollywood. It would be one thing if Lindsey Lohan and Paris Hilton were actually as attractive as the media makes them out to be, it would be another if either of them ever accomplish anything in their life. Any way you look at it, these people suck and they make me sad.
I’ve never seen a movie with that freckle fest ginger kid (I have seen two with Paris, they were pretty good, one not great film quality) and can’t imagine I ever will. So what makes her so freakin’ important? Why do I need to know shit about her? Why is she on CNN, USAToday and the Drudgereport? Because she’s a damn joke, that’s why. As a society we can’t really do anything to keep these fools from having all that money, fame and access, so what do we hope for? We hope they just fuck it up, that’s what we hope for. I got plenty of friends that get drunk, make terrible decisions and quiet a many of them have been to jail…more than once. But when we go out we know that we aren’t going to end up as the exclusive on Entertainment Tonight, in high-speed pursuit of our ‘assistants,’ stumbling out of a car, cussing photographers, carrying drugs on us, with no panties on, two weeks after ‘graduating’ from rehab. Just use a little bit sense, that’s all it takes.
The only thing I would want to hear less than another news report about Lindsay Heyhon would be a lecture on good housekeeping tips read by a drunk Diane Rehm.
Folks like Tom Brady throw parties, have sex with models, buy what they want, but you know what they are amazing at what they do and they don’t make an ass of themselves on the evening news.
Paranoia strikes deep, into your life it will creep.
Barry Bonds is on roids, a lot of them…has been for a while. Baseball to me has always been a waste. Far too individualistic and statistically oriented, the sport has come to be nothing but stats on top of stats, superstitions and a bore to watch. Its most famous players these days aren’t amazing base stealers, clutch pitchers or jackpot shortstops…they’re the guys that win the Home Run derby. Yawn. Even worse is how most of these guys 4 years ago were skinny 17 year olds from the Dominican Republic; today they are 32 and weigh 250lbs. I eat Wheaties like the rest of the kids on my block, but damn, I find that a little tough to swallow. It’s gotten so bad that the commissioner of the sport has mixed emotions about attending games where Bonds may break the HR record. That’s bad, real bad. This guy, in theory, should be THE BIGGEST advocate for the sport there is and he doesn’t even want to watch this meat head break a time honored and well respected record by a class act and one heck of a ball player. Who can blame ‘em. Just like the single season HR race (which I believe was staged) of a few years back, I’m just waiting for this one to get over with so I don’t have to hear about it anymore.
You know if you are gonna cheat at least make it worth watching. Getting big enough to knock a ball into the stands, but being too fat to run the bases is not achieving what the Greeks had in mind. That being said, cheating happens and it happens too often. Most of it goes unseen or is done to give a slight edge. Maybe your HS football team could ‘never find a dry ball’ for the opposition or maybe Jimmy Johnson has a little too much action on his spoiler, that’s part of it. But betting on games, when you are reffing them, that’s just ruining it for everyone involved and I do mean everyone. What blows my mind is how if these illegal bets were going on to determine the outcome of NBA games, then why are they still such a drag to watch? If you are gonna go, go big. Kick Shaq out of the game with two tech’s in the first 3min of the game, then I’ll watch…maybe, they’re might be a good episode of South Park on.
The NFL needs to get control of their athletes off the field, but for now the game is preserved and the reputation remains untarnished, which is more than can be said about NBA and MLB.
A thousand people in the street, singing songs and carrying signs.
Speaking reputations tarnished, why in the world are people lining up in the streets to buy a book? I know it’s Harry Potter and he’s like the greatest thing since Teletubbies, but thousands of teenage and NON-teenage people flooding stores to get their grubby hands wrapped around the cover a 600 page book filled with imaginary words and ghosts and goblins, well not thanks. Hey, at least they are reading right?
Wrapping up the sweet red maple leaf to the north the Stripes, in effort to visit every province and territory in Cananda as well as every US state they have yet to visit, kept it simple and closed out strong. It was going to be tough topping the antics of the tour up to this point, but as they say, sometimes less is more...and yes every other blog has this, but I couldn't resist.
I can only hope they bring this much enthusiasm to the States, especially to Myrtle Beach, where I'll have the honor of seeing them firsthand...OMFG!
The pop rock gods have graced us with two idols, worship as you will…
Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga - Spoon
There comes a time, then there’ll come a rhyme and you keep this together, sets ease to your mind. The ease in his ways, with so much that he’ll say, the words may be few, but always speaking the truth. Resembles the past, but old ways don’t last; deliver the beats, then shuffle your feet. You’re back where you started, but nothings the same, all that lingers is a face and a name. Oh what a feat.
Still rockin’ the crew, but your sound is so new; if you didn’t evolve, what else would you do? Threw in some horns, lyrics that burn; a shake here and where, so perk up dem ears. Proud of yourself, proud of them boys, proud of them sounds, makin’ much noise. Stayin' true to your fans, but fulfillin’ the needs. You leave ‘em speechless, down on their knees.
So now it's New to you. So so True. Then Covers you Blue. Keep Thinkin’ you knew. Drips through the songs. Perfect, now nothing is wrong. Yeah Alright, Alright?
It comes through in the night, sound without sight; voices that reckon like the sounds in your head. A ghost is in town, strung out with frown, in evening gown. You wanna speak back, but don’t know what they’ve said. So turn the page closin' that book, turn out the light, next when you look you keep on listenin’ and it works out right. Yeah Alright, Alright!
Cry into the night…try, try to take flight. Tiptoe, there’s the jingle; ring, ring, ring here’s a single. Don’t come ALONE.
Down into the voices…light, light but full of choices. Stomp hard, there’s the rattle; bang, bang, bang you come so far. Let’s be BOLD.
It was not small, just feeling it's way along. The Children are still Welcome, oh oh how they are so. Trying to make a name stick, spread the word to those that don’t know. So, so bring on the Fameseeker who brings with him Mono. Let’s loose CONTROL.
The first album was a highlight of ’06, a sense of wide open sounds, that still stay within reach, always uplifting and darkly poppy. Songs like Some Kind of Chill and Splintering made every playlist I had and the album as a complete work took some time to sink in, but it sunk deep.
Here we find the band very much in the same vein as the original release, just making what was once on their fringe now the norm with a tight yet airy EP. Thimble is a delight and possibly their first successful single. Bird on the Floor is just a perfect background song. Streetsweeper brings out the rock side of the group’s sound and Midday Midnight is a perfect folk pop song, jangly and heavy on vocals.
A breath of creative fresh air in a somewhat predictable landscape. The Fameseeker may need to look no further than Arizona.
Kind, kind are the voices, loud loud be the sound. Now they’re running quickly; rising from the ground. We’ll reach the STARS.
It was a close one, but I think Kayne saved me from being killed by global warming on Saturday.
An afternoon of idling in traffic en route to cooking off $4 gasoline for recreational purposes on a manmade lake, and I was ready to sit back in the AC, leave the sink running and burn a few tires as some of the world’s most overrated musical performers simultaneously adult contemporarily rocked 7 festivals around the world. What better way to send message to the populous of earth that action needs to be taken and that Earth’s future is in the balance, then by jetting rock stars to the most overly populated cities on the planet and putting on massive concerts with smoke, lights, fireworks and port-a-potties…and the Pussycat Dolls? That’s right kids, the “polar” opposite of that would have been a good place to start, but hey at least we got a Spinal Tap reunion out of this whole Gore-fest.
As a society we are lucky that heroes like Shakira and Black Eyed Peas take time out of their all-important lives to share with us their depth of knowledge and understanding for complex and crucial issues such as the effects pesticides used in agriculture have on local eco-systems and how the PPM of these chemicals enter into the very waters we base our existence on, altering the pH tolerance levels for living species and effecting the chlorophyll of the earth’s vegetation, which directly effects the absorption of green houses gasses in our atmosphere resulting in depletion of our ozone which then raises the core temperature of the of the livable realm of planet earth, melting ice caps, and altering the course of nature. Doncha wish your girlfriend was a freak like me, doncha?
Al Gore optimized the wrong way to make a change once again with this over the top display of all show and no substance. The irony of ‘environmentalists’ like Al Gore is classic to me. How can I make a difference and teach the people the reality of the world around them? Perhaps I’ll get them to drive to Cineplex’s to watch my movies and flock to little cities like Rio and rock out to Lenny Kravitz and John Mayer. It’s almost too perfect!
Most of these acts could have no less in common with concerned and active environmentalists looking to make a change. Metallica, Madonna, Snoop Dogg? These people don’t give a damn, they are just trying to not be forgotten.
At the end of the day these efforts become nothing more than what they are at their most basic, a movie and a concert. That being said, people like Al Gore have turned serious and important issues like the environment into entertainment and have done so by enlisting elitist, materialistic celebrities, making the matter a chic trend…which is sad and terrifying.
I’ve come across some profound statements in regards to Live Earth and perhaps the one that I found most intriguing was one in which a concerned citizen expressed her hopes that Gore would use his clout and the pull/funds of his Hollywood cronies to make a real change, not just make headlines. Why not organize an effort for the people of earth to minimize resources used for one day and see what a difference it could make? If we get people to limit the use of water, electricity, gasoline and production of waste for one day, people could realize a means in which they could live and at the same time preserve. That would be great. It would also be great if Muslims, Christians and Jews could get along, but Hips Don’t Lie and if it ain’t sexy, it ain’t selling, not this day in age.
So why rockstars? People like Gore grew up in an era where musicians actually made a difference, not just filmed episodes of Cribs. Dylan, Joan Baez, Willie Nelson, The Dead etc. etc. these bands were a voice of a generation, at least for a while. The stars of today are a different breed and are hardly fit to be the voice of change. I’ll give ya Bono, he truly is a great musician and activist, but Kayne, he’s nothing but a Gold Digger. He’s 22! He didn’t go to college! He doesn’t know shit! Why do people listen to him, or any rockstar? It’s the fault of the media in part, making Paris Hilton more important than scientists, politicians, activists etc., shoot, name your state senator? Who is Kelly Clarkson? That’s just the reality of it.
I’m not going to rant on about society etc., but I will state that I think it is criminal and morally wrong for celebrities to abuse their power on the masses and use matters such as war and the environment as launch pads to get their names in the headlines and it troubles me even more so that we as a society actually care what they have to say. Wake up people, they aren’t more educated than you, they are just on TV, be informed don’t be a victim of the media and Hollywood. A lack of willpower, a lack of faith, a lack of something to set you straight.
“It's a bit patronizing for us 21 year olds to try to start to change the world," said Arctic Monkeys drummer Matt Helders. “Someone asked us to give a quote about what was happening in Sheffield (floods that many blame on global warming, killing two) and it's like 'who cares what we think about what's happening'? There's more important people who can have an opinion. Why does it make us have an opinion because we're in a band?"
Indeed, indeed.
Roger Daltrey, of The Who, told British newspaper The Sun in May that "the last thing the planet needs is a rock concert." - - - "I've always been against the idea of rock stars lecturing people as if they know something the rest of us don't,” Neil Tennant, The Pet Shop Boys.
At least some people get it. Gore used to get it, and I hope he can find it again, we need a voice like his, it just sucks that someone like Gore isn’t enough he needs The Police, for people to pay attention.
-On a bright note, there was an awesome band from Antarctica, Nunatak, composed of scientists that were good and perhaps the most ironic of it all the satirical outfit (which is a direct attack on rock stars and their decadence) Spinal Tap put on the best set of the entire festival.
From the hills of the Carolinas...
